BRIDGEWATER, Va. (BC Athletics) – The Bridgewater College women’s basketball team fell to (RV) Southern Virginia 59-52 in a tight contest on Thursday night.

Records: Bridgewater 18-4; (RV) Southern Virginia 20-2

How It Happened
• Southern Virginia opened with the game’s first eight points and kept BC off the scoreboard for the opening 4:50 before Riley Corcoran scored in transition to put the Eagles on the board. Jaden Alsberry followed with a score on BC’s next trip down the floor as BC returned the favor with an 8-1 run as another Alsberry bucket cut the gap down to just a point at 9-8. SVU made a pair of free throws, but a Jaiden Polston bucket in response kept BC down by just a point and a Jay Garcia trademark turn-around jumper put the Eagles in front for the first time all night at 12-11. The Knights scored four-straight points to close the quarter to take a 15-12 edge after the opening 10 minutes.
• BC opened the second quarter with a make at the stripe by Corcoran and a bucket from Asia Williams to knot the game back up at 15-15. SVU responded with a bucket and went on a 10-0 run over the next 2:36 to take a 25-15 lead with 6:40 to play in the half. Alsberry ended the run, but a SBU three-pointer pushed the lead to 11 at 28-17. A Jasmine Griffin three-pointer in response sparked a run for the Eagles as eight from the sophomore mid-year transfer over the final 4:42 led an 11-2 BC run to cut the lead to 30-28 for SVU at the half.
• SVU opened the second half with four-straight points, but BC replied with back-to-back scores from Garcia and Humpherys. SVU nailed a deep-range bucket to push the gap to five at 37-32, but then both teams went scoreless for the next two minutes as a Corcoran layup ended the drought. The layup not only ended the drought, but then parked an 8-0 BC run over the next 4:07 as six from the junior and a pair of free throws by Griffin put the Eagles back in front at 40-37 with 1:31 to go in the frame. SVU made a pair of free throws to cap off the scoring as BC led 40-39 after three quarters of play.
• The knights opened the fourth by nailing a three-pointer, but a Polston layup leveled the game a minute later. BC wrestled the lead back on its next trip down the floor as a third-chance effort by Gentry gave the Eagles a 44-42 lead with 6:01 to play. The teams traded scores before SVU took the lead and pulled away as a 7-1 run gave the Knights a 51-47 advantage with 3:36 to play. Gentry made a free throw and Garcia followed with a bucket after a stop on the defensive end to cut the lead to just a point at 51-50 with 1:13 to go. SVU made just one free throw on its next trip down the floor an Griffin followed with a pair of makes for the Eagles to tie the game with 46 seconds to play at 52-52. The Knights took a timeout and on cue nailed a three-pointer to wrestle the lead back. BC took a timeout and tried to set up a play, but a turnover handed the ball back to SVU and the Eagles were forced to foul. SVU made both free throws a layup in transition after a BC miss added insurance to seal the club’s 18th straight victory.

Match Notes
• Griffin led BC with 12 points and had both of Bridgewater’s makes from deep and went 6-of-6 at the stripe, the fourth such game by an Eagles this season.
• Abigail Snyder led SVU with 20 points and nine rebounds including four makes from beyond the arc. Maria Savvun tallied six assists for the Knights.
• BC held the edge in field goal percentage at a 31.6% to 30.6% edge. Both teams grabbed 42 rebounds, but the difference game from beyond the arc as SVU was 32.0% (8/25) while BC was just 14.3% (2/14) with both makes coming in the second quarter.

Up Next
The Eagles are back in action this weekend with as they take on Hollins on Saturday in Roanoke.

— BC Athletics —